Donald Trump’s memory for his own policy positions seems to extend back only as far as the last commercial break on Fox & Friends. But over the years Trump has demonstrated a lasting ability to keep one thing secure beneath his many layers of Just for Mean: A grudge.
Since failing to yield to White House pressure and recusing himself from investigations into the Trump campaign, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III had been on Trump’s lengthy list of people who do not make him happy. For the most part, this has simply freed Sessions to follow his passion—reworking the Justice Department to make life miserable for black people. But from time to time, Trump has pressured Sessions hard enough to interfere with Sessions’ vital chores.
Eager to relieve that pressure, Sessions has overseen the launching of an all-new, all-pointless investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email servers. As well as an all-new, all-pointless investigation into the Clinton Foundation. But despite this offering of … spite, and despite an interpretation of “recused” so paper-thin that it’s allowed Sessions to intervene in matters up to and including the firing of James Comey, the Washington Post notes that Sessions is still not slithered back into Trump’s small circle of acceptable people.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is trying to find his way back into President Trump’s good graces.
For months, Sessions has asked senior White House aides to make sure the president knows what he is doing at the Justice Department, two White House advisers said, and has told allies he hopes policy decisions that garner news coverage will please Trump. Sessions’s team at Justice has crafted a public campaign to highlight the work it is doing to advance the president’s agenda. The department has also begun looking into matters that Trump has publicly complained are not being pursued.
Sessions is going about this thing all wrong. The first step in getting anything through to Trump: “Can you get me Steve Doocy on the phone?”
Trump continues to cite Fox & Friends in his morning tweets, including when the Fox version of the world contradicts the information Trump is getting from government agencies and his post-”executive time” briefing. In fact, Fox appears to be his only source of information. It’s clear that anything being generated by Sessions’ DOJ song and dance team falls into the very broad category of “deep state.” Just like all those other deep state agents.
Top Trump advisers, including White House counsel Donald McGahn and counselor Kellyanne Conway and former chief of staff Reince Priebus and former strategist Stephen K. Bannon, have at times joined the effort and pressed Trump to give his attorney general a second chance.
But Sessions and all those suspicious people who suspiciously have government jobs can talk as much as they want. Trump is not going to fall for it. Until Ainsley says it’s okay, he knows he has to keep his mad on.
Trump has dismissed praise of Sessions, according to four White House officials and advisers, as he continues to rage about the Russia investigation and Sessions’s decision to recuse himself from the probe into Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 election and whether there was any coordination with the Trump’s campaign.
What’s Trump really waiting for? For Sessions to fire Rod Rosenstein, have Rosenstein’s replacement fire Mueller, and appoint a new special counsel to persecute Clinton, Comey, Mueller, and anyone else who threatens the Committee of Public Safety … or Trump. That might make it good—if Fox says so. Because nothing would prove that Trump wasn’t trying to obstruct this “witch hunt” like his attorney general stepping in to make it all just go away.
In the meantime, Trump is disappointed that his most delicate management technique is letting him down.
Trump does not like to fire people — contrary to his TV image — and by publicly humiliating him has unsuccessfully tried to make Sessions miserable and force him to quit.
Trump doesn’t like to fire people. He just likes to make his employees an object of public scorn, the butt of national jokes, and belittle them before millions of people.
Fortunately, Sessions is immune to shame. He’s got things to do, rights to deny. Busy, busy, busy.